


Back Ward

by Karak323



Series: The Mustang Chronicles [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Family Problems, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Psychic Abilities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-30 03:52:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17216498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karak323/pseuds/Karak323
Summary: Kara's past is revealed as she relives it and Sam must save her before she does something they'll all regret.





	Back Ward

**Back Wards**

   
 _  
And if you’re a good little girl, I just might let you…_  
  
Kara woke with a start, shooting straight up from the odd position she had been lying in. A sharp pain at the back of her head, Kara tried to feel the cut she suspected was there only to find that the reach of her arm was annoyingly restricted. In the dim light she could just make out that both her wrists and her ankles were bound by leather cuffs attached to the bed she was now sitting on. She could also see that someone had changed her clothes into what appeared to be light grey cotton pajamas.  
  
“Damn it! What the hell happened?” Kara croaked hoarsely as she pulled against her restraints. The last thing she remembered was being back at Claire’s. She had tried calling her cousin but Madalyn hadn’t picked up, and then she remembered hearing… a noise. What noise? “Great,” she grumbled, “Maddie’s never gonna let me hear the end of this… kidnapped again…it was bad enough the first time… and now talking to myself - again…”  
  
Her rant was interrupted by a door opening at the other end of the room. A shaft of artificial light broke through the darkness and then blindingly flooded the area, making Kara’s eyes involuntarily clamp shut. When she managed to blink them open again the person that she saw step through the door was someone she had thought she would never see again.  
  
“Jason? The orderly from the bar? What the hell are you going here?” She tugged at her restraints again.  
  
“I’m hurt. We spent a lovely year together here. I know it’s been a long time, but I thought we had bonded!” Jason’s eyes flashed a shiny ink color and Kara’s teeth clenched.  
  
“Fuck you, O’Neill,” she spat.  
  
\---  
  
Sam clicked his phone shut and threw it down on the couch in frustration. He had just tried calling his brother to inform him of Kara’s violent disappearance but Dean wasn’t answering his phone and neither was Madalyn. Not that he would have been particularly pleased to have that conversation at the moment… or ever. Sam would just have to find Kara on his own. Well, maybe not completely on his own. There was Claire - he could go see her at the hospital. As soon as he hotwired Kara’s car… she’d just love that.  
  
Sam stepped through the sliding doors at Saint John’s Sanctuary Hospital and Sanitarium. A faint scent of ammonia and sick people wafted up as he approached the front desk.  
  
“I’m looking for Claire Barrett?”  
  
“May I ask who’s asking?” the nurse behind the desk looked up from her paper shuffling and had to bite her lip to keep from swooning.  
  
“Uh, it’s Sam... Sam Beard?”  
  
The nurse raised an eyebrow and turned away to the phone where she quickly dialed the number to Claire’s nursing station.  
  
“Hey Claire? It’s Liz, yeah, there’s someone here looking for you.” She lowered her voice. “Yeah, he’s really tall and really cute - he says his name is Sam, do you know him?” She paused for the response. “Oh my god, you have so been holding out! I want all the details later! Okay - yeah.”  
  
The nurse turned back to Sam with a smirk. “She’ll be right over. So, have you been staying at Claire’s place long?”  
  
Thankfully, Sam was promptly saved when Claire walked up and briskly led him away from Liz’s penetrating gaze.  
  
“Sorry about that,” she said breathlessly. “Is everything okay? Where’s Kara?”  
  
“That’s what I came to see you about - she’s gone - someone’s taken her!”  
  
Claire clenched her teeth. “I never should have called her. I-I was just desperate ‘cause the cops aren’t getting anywhere and I know that Kara “takes care” of things - whatever that means.”  
  
“It’s not your fault, Kara knew what she was getting herself into. You can help me get her back though. Whoever took her is probably the one who took those other girls. I think they’re all somehow connected.”  
  
Claire sighed. “I know. Sam, I was looking through the records from the ward the girls disappeared from and I found this.” She handed Sam a thick manila folder. “It’s a medical file for an “Annabel Everett-Kershaw”.”  
  
“Annabel Everett-Kershaw?” Sam questioned. “Do you think she’s related to Kara somehow?”  
  
“Sam, I think it  _is_ Kara.”  
  
“That’s right, her middle name’s Annabel isn’t it? But why would she be listed under her middle name?”  
  
“I don’t know. I didn’t really get a chance to look the file over too closely yet, but I need to get back to work. I’ll let you take the file, just don’t let anyone know you have it. It’s not exactly supposed to leave the filing room.”  
  
Sam nodded firmly and Claire hurried off again. He took the file back to the car and opened up to the cover page.  
  
 _Saint John’s Sanctuary Hospital and Sanitarium  
  
Patient: Annabel Kershaw  
Birth date: 3/23/1983        Gender: Female  
Admission Date to Sanctuary Sanitarium: November 9th 2001  
Observing Physician: Dr. Jackson O’Neill Psy.D.  
Analysis: Considered psychologically unstable; Danger to self and others  
Notes: Charged with killing roommate [name withheld] - found with limbs dismembered, and roommate’s boyfriend [name withheld] - found decapitated; Causes of death ruled as unknown, charges dropped  
Additional Information: Maintains innocence claiming a ‘werewolf’ committed the murders - possible dissociation and/or schizophrenia  
CONSIDERED HIGH LEVEL - 24 HOUR WATCH - FULL CONTAINMENT_  
  
Sam frowned. He knew what it felt like when people thought you were crazy simply because they didn’t know the things you knew. He flipped through the next couple of pages.  
  
 _Daily Progress Reports  
  
11/16/01  
Psychoanalysis Report: Projected Dissociative Identity Disorder  
Notes: Remains delusional, anti-social; not responding to standard treatments  
TRANSFERRED TO EXTREME CASE WARD - NOVEMBER 16TH 2001  
\---  
11/29/01  
Notes: Disruptive in therapy; refuses meals  
ADMITTED TO ELECTROTHERAPY - NOVEMBER 29TH 2001  
\---  
12/15/01  
Notes: Shows some improvement; responding to correctional memory rehabilitation  
\---  
12/27/01  
Notes: Released for recreational activities  
RECONSIDERED MIDDLE LEVEL  
\---  
1/15/02  
TRANSFERRED TO PERSONAL OBSERVATION - JANUARY 15TH 2002  
Receiving Physician: Dr. Jackson O’Neill Psy.D._  
  
Sam turned to the end of the file but found it was truncated.  
  
 _Personal Observation Files Removed  
Authorized by Dr. Jackson O’Neill Psy.D._  
  
“Looks like I need to hunt down the good doctor,” he mumbled.  
  
\---  
  
Dean looked down at Madalyn’s slumped figure against the lamppost. She looked so fragile, it was weird. He cleared his throat.  
  
“Come on, let’s go inside.” He helped her up and they walked towards the motel.  
  
Dean walked back into the room carrying their stuff from the car. Madalyn stood in front of the wardrobe mirror, examining the unnatural tattoo on her torso.  
  
“What is it?” she asked in a cracked voice and Dean came to stand behind her.  
  
“I think it’s a good thing. I think it defended you against that demon.”  
  
“But why won’t it go away? And why are the voices so loud? It’s as bad as it was when it all first started.”  
  
“When the demon tried to possess you I think it woke up your power more.”  
  
She scoffed. “I don’t know if power is the operative word here. It doesn’t give me  _power_ over anything - it actually takes away my control. It’s a curse.”  
  
“It’s a gift that you help people with,” Dean said to her reflection.  
  
“I don’t want to help people. If that makes me a bad person fine - I’ll give the  _gift_  back.” She turned and looked him hard in the face. “I’d gladly forget about all this stuff.”  
  
Dean held her gaze. “I can’t say I blame you.”  
  
She closed her eyes and took a breath, holding it in and then letting it out very slowly. She looked at him again.  
  
“Dean, help me forget.”  
  
\---  
  
Sam tossed the folder down on the seat next to him and picked up his phone. He was halfway through dialing Dean’s number when it rang. It was his brother.  
  
“Hey dude, I was just trying to call you again. Where have you been?” he paused as he listened to what Dean was saying. “What do you mean ‘She’s gone’? I mean I know she is, but how did you know?” Another pause. “Madalyn’s missing now? No, I meant Kara - she’s gone too… no I don’t- Dean! No, just- fine… okay.” The less than helpful call disconnected.  
  
Sighing, he looked around the car. Being on the road so much, Kara and Madalyn had let it get a little cluttered. Not really thinking it would help much, he half-heartedly shifted around some of the stacks of papers they had lying about. Something was sticking out of the glove compartment and he reached over to take it. It was a neatly folded poster with an accompanying index card.  
  
“Huh,” he mused after opening it, “a portable Devil’s Trap and exorcism!” Although small, it could definitely come in handy. He sighed again and grabbed Kara’s file before getting out of the car.  
  
“Ooh, Claire! Tall, dark, and handsome came back for you!” Liz the nurse whispered excitedly to her companion.  
  
“Hey, Sam,” Claire said with a tight smile. “I’m just going on break, why don’t you join me in my office.”  
  
“I get off in an hour! Then you can join  _me_!” Liz called after them.  
  
“Did you look over the file?” Claire asked after she shut the door. She beckoned Sam to take a seat across from her at the desk.  
  
He sat but did so tensely and on the edge of the chair. “Yeah, it looks like Kara was put through some pretty gruesome stuff. I didn’t know they still used electroshock therapy these days.”  
  
“ _Electrotherapy_ \- they dropped the ‘shock’ part. It’s only used in extreme cases but yes, it is still in practice. Not that everyone approves,” she said with pursed her lips.  
  
“Claire, what do you know about a Dr. O’Neill that used to work here? It seems he was in charge of Kara for the majority of her time here.”  
  
“Doctors come and go so often it’s hard to keep track. His information should be filed somewhere around this place though, I’ll see what I can dig up.”  
  
“Okay.” Sam stood. “I’m gonna go back to your place to see if I can find any clues about how or where Kara was taken. Maybe I missed something. Call me if you find anything.”  
  
“Sure thing, Sam. Are you sure we shouldn’t involve the police though?”  
  
He shook his head. “They’ll just get in the way - I’d only do that as a last resort, but I hope it won’t come to that.”  
  
Claire got up to see him out the door. “Whoever took her and the other girls - you don’t think they…” she trailed off.  
  
“No,” Sam said firmly. “Whoever’s doing this is doing it for a reason - entertainment maybe, or something. They’re not gonna just discard the girls before they have their fun. I’m just gonna make damn sure I find them before they have too much.”  
  
Claire nodded, a sad look on her face. She closed the door after him and the look turned into a smirk. Her eyes went jet black but she blinked and they went back to normal.  
  
“The fun’s already begun, Sammy, but don’t worry - I’ll save some for you. I always have time for a Winchester.”  
  
\---  
  
Kara lunged at the demon, forgetting for a moment that she was bound to the metal frame bed she was still seated on.  
  
“You’ll get nothing from me, you black-eyed sonofabitch,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’m stronger than I was back then. I know what you are now and I won’t fall for your tricks like before.” She spat at the ‘man’ standing in front of her.  
  
For some reason this made him smile, which made Kara’s stomach turn.  
  
“I don’t play tricks, Annabel, I’m a doctor. I make people better.” His grin grew wider and he reached out to brush the hair from Kara’s face.  
  
“Don’t touch me!” she growled.  
  
He frowned slightly. “I tried to make you better, but you left before we could finish your special treatments.”  
  
“I should have hunted you down as soon as I figured out what you were.”  
  
“Hunt me down? I’m not an animal, Annabel. I help people, and I helped you help people." He looked hurt. "I missed you. We made a great team.”  
  
“You didn’t want to help people. You wanted to kill people! You wanted me to be your hit man! Well guess what, I did become a killer only I kill things like  _you_ for a living. A feeling of intense rage and determination swept through the room like a wave.  
  
O’Neill’s smile grew again. “Oh my, you certainly have gotten stronger while you’ve been away. But I see that you are still so mental unstable. I find it so sad when patients relapse. You’re lucky I found you again! Now let’s get started on those treatments!”  
  
“Bite me.”  
  
\---  
  
Sam stared down at the puddle of blood still staining the white tile of Claire’s kitchen floor.  
  
“Where are you Kara?” he wondered desperately to himself for the millionth time. He knelt down and carefully extracted Kara’s little pink cell phone from its place at the center of the red congealed mass. He flicked it open and scrolled through the recent calls. There was one missed call from him when he had been trying to find her that morning, one out going to Madalyn, and one incoming from a number neither he nor the phone recognized.  
  
The time stamp for the unknown number read shortly after Kara had tried calling her cousin and almost an hour before Sam’s call. He took out his own phone and dialed the number. Immediately a recorded woman’s voice came on the line explaining that the number had been disconnected. He frowned but wasn’t about to give up.  
  
A couple minutes later Sam was searching through an online phonebook database. No exact match had been made but a couple possibilities had popped up and one of the names was very familiar. Just one digit different, the number belonged to the psychology department of none other than Saint John’s Hospital. Who besides Claire would call Kara from the hospital? Who else had known she was even in town?  
  
\---  
  
Kara screamed aloud as a jolt of pain ran through the entire length of her body. The good doctor was holding a thin metal rod to a conductor placed on one of Kara’s bound wrists. He had her completely strapped down now and she was writhing beneath her restraints.  
  
“Just promise to behave and I’ll stop,” O’Neill said in an almost parental tone as he held the rod away for a moment. It was connected by a long wire to a small box the size and function of a car battery.  
  
“Go to Hell,” Kara managed as she ground her teeth together.  
  
“Been there, done that,” he shrugged, shocking her again.  
  
Kara gasped in pain as black and red spots formed in front of her eyes but she managed to bite back another scream. She knew he got his kicks from seeing someone suffer and she didn’t want to give him the pleasure.  
  
“You know I hate doing this Annabel, but you really give me know choice,” the doctor said in in mock empathy. “You need to understand that I’m trying to help you! You are capable of great things, you just need to open yourself up and accept it.”  
  
The door opened and both turned to look at the intruder.  
  
“Claire! Run!” Kara shouted, but the Claire standing in the doorway just rolled her black eyes.  
  
Kara’s jaw dropped.  
  
“Honestly,” sneered the Claire puppet, “you hunt demons for a living but couldn’t tell when you were staying with one? How can you call yourself a hunter if you let yourself get so distracted? Oh, and bee tee dubs, your boyfriend knows you’re a crazy psycho killer.”  
  
Kara let out what sounded like a low growl.  
  
Demon-Claire turned to Demon-O’Neill with a hand on a hip, tapping her foot. “I got you your girl, so can I have mine back now?”  
  
O’Neill waved a dismissive hand. “After you get rid of the annoying tall guy.”  
  
“No!” Kara was absolutely tearing at her bonds now. She didn’t want harm to come to any of the girls or to Sam.  
  
“Fine,” Claire sighed exasperatedly before turning on her heels.  
  
\---  
  
Sam stepped back out of Claire’s house on his way to the hospital yet again when something soft thumped against his chest and bounced to his feet. He looked down in surprise, then bent to pick up the newspaper now lying on the doorstep. Absently, he unfolded it and glanced at the headline.  
  
 _SAINT JOHN’S IN MOURNING  
_  
That catching his eye, he read on further. _  
  
Saint John’s University is still recovering in the wake of a number of recent brutal attacks. Over the last couple of months three separate incidents have occurred - two resulting in death. All attacks were committed by young girls attending Saint John’s against fellow classmates. The question left now is whether these were isolated incidents or if there is any connection between them...  
  
...This is not the first string of tragedies to befall the university. Almost seven years ago to date another set of deaths occurred on campus. Just two weeks into the Fall Semester of 2002 the body of a young girl was found in a clearing in the woods adjacent to the north end of the library. A second body was found a month later around the same area. While both appeared to be victims of suicide, police were puzzled to find evidence of tampering with the bodies. Officials reported that both bodies were repositioned after death in what could only be described as a “peaceful” looking arrangement. No suspect was ever found._  
  
Sam stared down at the page. The two older deaths had occurred at the time Kara was still detained in the hospital, but he got the feeling that she was still somehow connected. The article had also given him an idea about the other girls. Maybe if he could find a connection between the three of them and why they committed their crimes he could come up with a lead on where they might have disappeared to. Where Kara might have disappeared to.  
  
A sudden “ _Thunk_ ” sounded from somewhere above and Sam whirled around to look back into the house.  
  
“Claire?” Sam called out, and then tried “Kara?” hopefully after a moment of silence, but there was still no response. Checking his most accessible weapon, he crept up the stairs. He looked around tentatively and proceeded to check all the rooms but discovered nothing out of the ordinary.  
  
Sam found himself in the Master Bedroom at the end of his search. Not wanting to intrude, but feeling a bit curious, Sam glanced around. A modest queen size bed stood between two nightstands and across from a large dresser stacked high with big medical books. Looking around some more Sam saw that one of the texts had fallen to the floor and had probably been the cause of the noise. Somewhat disappointed, he picked it up and put it back on the dresser. When he took his hand away there was a weird residue left on his fingers. He rubbed at it and a very particular smell was produced.  
  
“ _Sulfur_ ,” he hissed.  
  
“Hello Sam,” someone said suddenly and he turned to see Claire standing in the doorway. She was still wearing her lab coat but it seemed that the rest of her clothes, save her undergarments, had mysteriously disappeared.  
  
“Uh…” Sam trailed off. Claire smirked and advanced on him. He clumsily backed up - right to the bed where she was trying to steer him. His legs hit the end of the mattress and he fell back to a seated position on top.  
  
Still with a devious smile on her face, she came towards him as he continued to edge away by sliding himself backwards. “Oh, come on now. Don’t be shy.” She caught him cowering against the headboard and - while he protested - took off his jacket, tossing it on the floor. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of me.” She tried to kiss him and he flinched, leaping off the bed.  
  
“Wait! I need-” he mumbled while fumbling on the floor for something in his jacket pocket. Claire watched in amusement. After a moment he stood up and away. She tried to crawl off the bed but found she was stuck and a confused look tortured her features.  
  
“What have you-?”  
  
Sam cleared his throat and started reading an exorcism off a small piece of paper in his hand. Yes, a portable Devil’s Trap could definitely come in handy, especially when you had one stuffed in your pocket after forgetting to put it back where you found it.  
  
“No!” Claire twitched and writhed on the bed as the demon was drawn out of her. “Don’t! My girls need me!” the demon pleaded, but he ignored her. “Stop! Or I’ll kill Claire! Stop and I’ll tell you where Kara is!”  
  
Sam ignored the lies to finish the incantation and a large stream of black smoke expelled itself from Claire's body and sank through the floorboards back to Hell. Claire gasped and gulped for air. Sam rushed over to her.  
  
“Claire! Claire, are you okay?”  
  
“Ward Three!” she coughed hoarsely, pulling an ID tag from the lab coat’s pocket and thrusting it towards Sam. Then she fainted.  
  
“Claire!” he shouted again but she remained unconscious - breathing, but unconscious. Sam took the key card and threw a blanket over her before rushing out.  
  
\---  
  
“Liz!” Sam hurried over to the Nurse’s Station.  
  
“You remembered my name!” Liz smiled. “I’m just getting off work now if you want to maybe go grab a drink?”  
  
Sam shook his head quickly and her face fell.  
  
“Liz, something’s happened. I need to get into Ward Three - can you help me?”  
  
“Where’s Claire?” She asked somewhat suspiciously.  
  
“At home. Something’s happened and she told me that I need to go to Ward Three. Please!” he begged.  
  
“But that ward’s under renovation right now. It’s closed off, Sam, no one’s using it.”  
  
He frowned and his brow knitted deeply together. “I think someone is.”  
  
\---  
  
 _A younger Kara sat at a desk with her chin resting on its surface. She was watching a little white mouse running around its cage. It kept hitting the “Negative Reinforcement” button before running a lap and doing it again._ Zap!  _Run._ Zap! _Run. And so on. A door opened and Kara rolled her head around to see who it was.  
  
“Ah! There you are my pet! And how are we feeling today?” Doctor O’Neill looked down at the mouse in the cage and smile crookedly. The mouse stopped suddenly where it stood in front of the NR button again. The doctor stroked his fluffy white beard in thought.  
  
Kara lifted her head and waited.  
  
“Hmm,” he mused. “I think it’s time we had a proper outing,” he announced slowly. “Get ready and I’ll come collect you in an hour.” Then he was gone.  
  
Kara stared at the closed door after him and the mouse started to move again. A continual _Zap! Zap! Zap! _sounded as the mouse repeatedly thrust its head against the shock button. Kara stood and ground her teeth in a grimace as she gazed at the helpless creature. One final_ Zaaaaaaaaaaaap!  _and the mouse’s life shuttered out of it.  
_  
\---  
  
Liz looked around nervously as she and Sam approached the heavy double doors that led to the East Wing containing Ward Three. Ignoring the caution signs, the tall Winchester took Claire’s key card out of his pocket and scanned it so the doors unlocked. They quickly stepped through, and the doors swung quietly closed behind them.  
  
“You don’t have to come with me,” Sam offered.  
  
Liz shrugged. “You said something was wrong, right? Well I work here, so not only does it affect me, but I can probably help.”  
  
“Have you noticed anything strange around here lately?” Sam asked.  
  
“What, besides the girls disappearing -  _Poof_ \- without a trace? No.”  
  
“Right.”  
  
They were walking slowly along the corridor lined with construction tools and holey drywall. Sam paused at the end of the hall where it joined with another.  
  
“What?” Liz asked nervously.  
  
“Shh,” was all Sam offered with a small wave of his hand. Liz quieted and strained to hear what he was hearing.  
  
It was laughter. More like giggling really. High-pitched, insane giggling that would have been wildly irritating if it hadn’t been so creepy.  
  
“Who’s down there?” Liz mouthed as the color started to seep from her face.  
  
Sam shrugged and pulled out his gun.  
  
Liz jumped back. “Whoa! Is that really gonna be necessary?”  
  
Sam clenched his jaw in a frown. “I hope not.”  
  
The two crept down the hallway in the direction of the sound. As they got closer they realized the noise was coming from two or three separate sources.  
  
“Oh my god, you so did not just say that!” a young sounding girl exclaimed amongst the giggles, making Sam and Liz stop just outside a door from which light was emanating.  
  
“Oh come on, you both were thinking it!” another girl defended.  
  
“Well, yeah, I guess he is sort of hot - for a demon anyway,” a third girl admitted.  
  
Sam gripped his gun a little tighter but lowered it as he swept into the room, catching the trio off guard.  
  
“Now that’s more my type,” girl one grinned.  
  
“Sydney!” Liz stepped quickly in front of Sam. “Tisha! Maggie! Where have you girls been? How did you get out of your ward?”  
  
The girls all sighed exasperatedly. “Always around to spoil our fun, huh Lizzie,” Maggie said with a frown.  
  
“What are you girls doing here? We’ve looked everywhere for you!”  
  
“Can’t you just mind your own business?” asked Sydney as she stretched her arms out in front of her, making two fists. She jerked them back towards her and Liz crashed to the floor as if an invisible rug had been suddenly swept out from under her feet.  
  
“Yeah Lizzie, don’t be such a drag!” Tisha barred her teeth in a menacing smile as she mimicked pulling a rope while Liz slid slowly towards her across the linoleum.  
  
Sam had drawn his gun again but wasn’t exactly sure what to do. He wasn’t sure yet what he was dealing with - if these were three demons, or just three girls or maybe three something elses.  
  
"Light as a feather, stiff as a board!" Maggie cackled.

There were three something elses and they had started to chant in Latin, raising Liz’s body up towards the ceiling as she screamed. They suddenly stopped their recitation and she fell back down to earth near Sam’s feet.  
  
“Liz!” he quickly bent down and found that she had been knocked out cold.  
  
“Ding Dong the witch is dead,” Sydney sang lightly.  
  
“Syd!” chastised Maggie, “She doesn’t deserve such a title.”  
  
The three erupted into another bout of laughter.  
  
Alright, so he was dealing with witches - good to know. He quickly assessed his surroundings and found that they were standing in an observation atrium with a wide window to one side that lent a view of the adjacent operating room.  
  
“What are you girls doing here?” he asked, slowly moving closer, putting himself between them and Liz’s unconscious body.  
  
“We’re just having some fun. Want to join?” Sydney offered alluringly.  
  
He ignored her offer. “Everyone thought you guys were kidnapped.”  
  
“Well sort of,” Maggie shrugged. “Claire released us from our mental and earthly prisons - but then the other guy took us and stashed us here until she helps him get his, like, pet back or something.”  
  
“At least he left us with a snack,” Tisha granted, looking over in the direction of the OR on the other side of the glass.  
  
Sam looked again and saw that on the operating table there was something covered in a white sheet.  
  
The three girls filed out of the anteroom, leaving Sam to watch them through the window as they surrounded the hidden figure. They slowly pealed back the fabric and what was underneath made Sam’s stomach churn violently.  
  
Sydney bent down so that her face was right next to what was left of the other guy’s. “See? We were just having some fun.”  
  
\---  
  
“Maddie, I’m sorry if - if I did something wrong or… I dunno, if I might've said something... or you’re just still freaked out about the tattoo or whatever but please, man! I’m begging you, just - please call me back, okay?” Dean snapped his phone shut and sighed heavily.  
  
“God! So stupid!” He smacked the steering wheel repeatedly. “Stupid! Stupid!” He ran his hand roughly through his hair. “Kara is going to kill me. She’ll murder me!” he ranted to himself. “She will beat, maim, kill and murder me!” He screamed a string of obscenities then picked up his phone again.  
  
“Maddie! Please just call me or text me and tell me where you are and if you’re okay! I’m headed out to PA to Sam and Kara, and I know you probably are too so why don’t you just tell me where to pick you up and we can go together. I think we need to like, talk or something.”  
  
He hung up again. “What did I get myself mixed up in?” he questioned himself. He tossed his phone to the passenger seat and when he didn’t hear it connect with anything he glanced over.  
  
“What the hell!” Dean shouted in surprise and almost swerved off the road.  
  
The bloody ghost was back, her pink bunny slippers curled up beneath her as she sat in the seat next to him.  
  
Dean pulled over quickly and scrambled out of the Impala.  
  
“What do you want?” he demanded. The little girl was instantly standing before him and he backed away towards the trunk of the car. His intent was to retrieve one of his many salt filled shot guns, but again, she did not look at all threatening beyond the stern look she was giving him.  
  
“What! Why are you following me!?”  
  
She gazed through the rear window at something.  
  
Cautiously, Dean crept up a little and peered in too. There was a map laid out on the back seat. He looked back at the ghost.  
  
“The map? You want the map?” She took a few silent stepped backwards and he realized that it was so he would open the door. He took the map out and, feeling a bit crazy, held it out to the apparition.  
  
  
Sure enough, a small, pale finger pointed at it. Dean peered down and it looked like she was indicating their current position.  
  
“Yeah, so? I’m not at the mall. I don’t need a "You Are Here Sign", thank you.”  
  
Ignoring him, the girl started to trace a line along the highway they were on, but headed in the opposite direction. She headed westward back though Nebraska to Wyoming and stopped there.  
  
“Wyoming? Nothing’s in Wyoming.”  
  
She looked at him with her unblinking eyes.  
  
He was taken aback. “Uh, okay. Maybe there is something in Wyoming, but what? I don’t know what you want from me.”  
  
She pointed at his jacket pocket. He reached in an pulled out the demon’s locket. Madalyn had left it behind at the hotel and he had taken it with him. He thought for a moment.  
  
“Maddie? Is Maddie in Wyoming?” he looked up again but the ghost girl was gone.  
  
\---  
  
“Just give up already. I won’t kill for you again, O’Neill,” Kara insisted.  
  
“You underestimate yourself, Kara. I never made you do anything, I just let you do what you wanted. You wanted to help people move on, and you really were just so good at it! Those little mice didn’t have a chance, and neither did those girls.”  
  
“Shut up.”  
  
“Oh my pet... maybe you kill monsters now, but that won’t erase what you did in the past.”  
  
“Shut up, O’Neill.”  
  
“Remember how you felt? All that power rushing through you? It felt good to do what you did, didn’t it?”  
  
“I said shut up!”  
  
“Fine. We can do something else then.” He sat beside her on the bed and she curled up against the faded blue wall but he had her cornered. “You know, I saw how you looked at Jason back at the bar. You find this body attractive, don’t you?”  
  
“Not when you’re in it you scum.”  
  
“Don’t deny your feelings Annabel, they are your source of power. Just let them flow.” He leaned in, his long dark hair swinging forward in a frame around face, and though she tried to resist, her restraints did not allow her to avoid his kiss… so she bit him instead.  
  
“My name is Kara!”  
  
He drew back with a hiss and slap across her face, finally losing his cool demeanor. She sneered in triumph before he grabbed the electro-rod and sent her body jolting even more violently than before.  
  
“I’ll break you Annabel. You just wait and see.”  
  
\---  
  
Sam stared in horror at the sight of the dead body on the operating table. The guy wasn’t just dead, he had been sliced open and picked apart. His remains looked like a turkey after Thanksgiving dinner.  
  
He racked his brain for what he had ever learned about witches. His dad had a whole chunk of pages devoted to witches in the journal he had kept.  
  
“What is that? Some sort of human sacrifice?” he asked, still on the other side of the glass, trying to keep calm.  
  
Sydney thought for a moment. “Sort of. I mean we didn’t sacrifice him as a gift to anyone or anything. He’s for us.”  
  
“His blood makes us stronger,” Maggie explained in a sweet tone. “And his organs and stuff too.”  
  
“It’s best served warm though, and he’s gone all cold,” Tisha pouted.  
  
“Uh, hello. Do we not have our very own Florence Nightingale lying over there all nice and juicy for the taking?”  
  
“And that’s why we keep you around Syd.”  
  
“Just shut up Tish and get her in here.”  
  
Sam stood his ground. “I can’t let you do that.”  
  
“Oh yeah Jolly Green? And just what are you going to do about it?” Sydney motioned with her hand and the gun flew out of Sam’s grip. It skidded across the floor and he chased after it but it kept moving out of his reach like a dollar tied to a string.  
  
The girls descended upon Liz and quickly dragged her to the other room.  
  
“Hey! Stop!” Sam bolted after them but they slammed the door in his face. He tried to bust his way through but it wouldn’t budge. He watched in horror as Liz was laid out on the table in the man’s place.  
  
The girls each grabbed a scalpel, ready to make incisions.  
  
\---  
  
Kara woke up with a throbbing headache. She opened her eyes and assessed her surroundings.  
  
WHITE.  
  
Everything was white. A blinding, sterile, unfriendly shade of bleach white. The ceiling, the walls, the desk in the corner and the bed she was lying on. The sheets, her clothes, her rubber shoes - all white.  
  
She got up and went to the window. Outside was a small courtyard, vacant and dirty looking. The sound of squeaking wheels came from outside the room and she turned towards the door. The squeaking stopped as the door opened.  
  
“How are you feeling today Annabel? Your doctor told me I could give you a half dose of your medication if you weren’t feeling too badly.” The orderly smiled brightly.  
  
Kara smiled back. She liked him, he looked nice. His blue-green eyes looked kind. He handed her two small paper cups, one containing small multi-colored pills and another filled with water.  
  
“Good. I’ll tell the doctor you’re feeling up to some games today.”  
  
Kara abruptly let out a gasp of pain and dropped to her knees, her head cradled in her hands. Her headache had suddenly spiked and she had seen a sudden flash of images.  
  
A knife, a car, a map, a star and a gun.  
  
“Annabel! Are you okay?”  
  
“No.” Her voice sounded wet and strangled. “Something’s wrong. I’m - I’m not supposed to be here.” She screamed again as she was bombarded with another reel of pictures.  
  
Blood, salt, mice, headlights and silver bullets.  
  
She was breathing heavily as the orderly bent over her, his head cocked curiously to one side. “Annabel, what’s wrong?”  
  
“I’m not Annabel!”  
  
The orderly frowned. “Maybe you’re not feeling so hot after all. I better call the doctor and tell him you’re having another episode.”  
  
“What? Where am I?”  
  
“You’re in good hands, Annabel.”  
  
“My name’s not Annabel!”  
  
“I’m sorry, they warned me this might happen when I got transferred to Ward Three. Sufferers of Multiple Personality Disorder often switch personas quite unexpectedly and are completely unawares. Why don’t you take the rest of your medication.”  
  
“Who are you?”  
  
“My name’s Jason. I know you’re sick, but I hear that you can help people.”  
  
“Help who?”  
  
“People in pain. I hear you help them move on.”  
  
Kara tried to search through her memories but they were broken and fragmented.  
  
“I know some people that are in pain. Will you help them?”  
  
She tried desperately to break through the blockage in her brain.  
  
“They say you can make them feel better. You can make them end the pain.”  
  
Kara stared at Jason but his face looked wrong.  
  
“I really believed I was helping them.” Her mind started to piece itself back together. “I really believed I was doing something good. But Jason didn’t have that scar when I was on the inside, O’Neill. Nice try.”  
  
\---  
  
Sam felt like he was moving in slow motion and hitting fast forward all at the same time. The glass window separating the two rooms had suddenly shattered violently and he had moved to cover his face. At the same moment the door to the OR had burst open and all three witches had been knocked to the floor.  
  
Liz came to with Sam standing over her, slightly stunned.  
  
“What’d I miss?” she asked worriedly as she surveyed the damage.  
  
“I’m not really sure but I think we should get out of here.”  
  
Sam was helping Liz limp down the hallway when the girls reappeared. They had recollected themselves and sent a pulse of energy down the corridor, knocking both Sam and Liz to the floor.  
  
Liz yelled out in pain but Sam was quickly back on his feet. The witches sent another pulse after him and he braced himself. The battered nurse yelped as she was forced further down the hall, but Sam had managed to stay standing right where he was - much to the confusion of not only himself, but the assaulters as well.  
  
They attacked again but this time their efforts went completely unnoticed.  
  
“Syd?” Tisha called desperately from where she stood on the other side of Maggie. “What’s going on?”  
  
“I don’t know!” she answered. “Maybe our juice is all tapped out?”  
  
Maggie protested. “But I still feel wired! And I mean we like, totally drained that guy. What’s wrong?”  
  
“I don’t know. Let’s try again. And focus! All together now - One, two…” When Sydney hit three an angry burst of light rippled through the air down the wide passageway. The wave washed over everything and came crashing towards its targets.  
  
And that’s where it stopped.  
  
All five people dropped their jaws when the wave receded just inches from where Sam stood in shock. It drew back like an out tide and started racing towards the other end where the witches all shrieked in horror. They tried to force it away from them again but the energy ripped through them, stripping them of their power and leaving them helpless on the ground.  
  
“Sam?” Liz panted as she still lay on the floor, “What was that?”  
  
He turned to looked at her and just shook his head. He helped her up and they walked quickly out of the ward to call security.  
  
“Liz… please don’t-”  
  
She cut him off mid-sentence. “Do you think anyone would believe me? For once I’ll keep my big mouth shut. Getting locked up in the loony bin with those girls is the last thing I’d like to have happen!”  
  
Once they were back in the functioning part of the hospital, Liz was rushed off to have her injuries taken care of. A more decently dressed Claire burst around the corner suddenly and ran up to Sam.  
  
“Lucy,” she said breathlessly, “you have a lot of explaining to do! But first, have you found Kara yet? Because if not, I know where she is.”  
  
\---  
  
“I told you I wouldn’t fall for your tricks this time.”  
  
O’Neill sighed. “You’re right. Jason and I had a little accident. Cut his pretty face up good. Among other things.”  
  
“Well you can’t break me, I know better now. I know what I did was wrong.”  
  
“You helped people end their suffering,” the demon protested.  
  
“I’m not a delusional little girl anymore. I manipulated those people, just like you manipulated me.”  
  
“They were in pain.”  
  
“They were unhappy! They were depressed, maybe, but they weren’t in pain until I told them they were! Until I made them think that there was nothing to live for, that they would be better off if they just off-ed themselves!”  
  
“They died happy, and hopeful.”  
  
Kara was disgusted. “Hopeful? I sent their souls to Hell for you!”  
  
“Enough souls to get me a promotion, in fact. Now I’m going for another one.”  
  
“But why do you need me? Why can’t you just do the dirty work yourself!”  
  
“The human mind is a mysterious thing,” he said simply. “So strong, yet so pliable. I can mold a mind if it’s already damaged, but you my pet, you can start from scratch and still make a pretty damn good cake.”  
  
“So you’re saying that I’m stronger than you are. I agree.”  
  
The demon’s black eyes were piercing. “I’m saying that the skills you have are amazing. With you at my side I could rule the world.”  
  
“I’ll never be at your side,” Kara bared her teeth, “But I will stick a knife in it.”  
  
\---  
  
“Claire!” Sam exclaimed in relief. “Are you okay?”  
  
Claire laughed sarcastically. “Ha! Yeah right! Uhm, I was possessed by a demon for like a couple weeks - I think I’m pretty mentally and physically traumatized - but we’ll get to that later.”  
  
“So where’s Kara?”  
  
“The Electroshock Therapy Center with her demon doctor.”  
  
“I thought they dropped the “shock” part,” Sam commented as they rushed off towards the Extreme Case Ward on one of the upper levels of the hospital.  
  
“Yeah, from the name. The therapy’s still pretty shocking though.” They reached the triple sealed door. “You still have my key card?”  
  
Sam passed it over and Claire ran through all the security clearances.  
  
“Hi, Carl! He’s with me!” She waved to the guard in the bullet proof glass security station they passed as quickly yet as calmly and un-suspiciously as they could.  
  
They came to the room Claire had last seen Kara in, but it was empty.  
  
“Damn! They were right in here!”  
  
“He must have moved her.”  
  
“Well he probably didn’t take her too far. I think he was kind of banking on Kara relapsing - like, back to whatever she was like before - by keeping her in the same environment as he did last time she was here.”  
  
“Then let’s keep looking.”  
  
They stalked down the hall, peering into every window, looking in on the minds that had forgotten how to look back out.  
  
“Sam!” Claire issued a harsh whisper and pointed frantically at the door she was standing next to.  
  
He peeked in the small square of a window and sure enough it was Kara strapped to the bed. A young man was laughing as she struggled. Sam made to burst through the door but Claire quickly stopped him.  
  
“Are you crazy? Ever heard of a game plan, genius?”  
  
“But he’s hurting her!”  
  
“Yeah and he’ll only hurt her more if you go in guns blazing with no guns.”  
  
Sam shook his head. “Guns don’t work on these things.”  
  
“It’s called a metaphor.” Claire rolled her eyes. “I also think I have an idea.”  
  
A couple minutes later Claire strode into the room by herself.  
  
“Lilura!” O’Neill addressed her, “How many times have I told not to interrupt me while I’m working?”  
  
“Sorry, Uphir,” Claire shrugged with a sarcastic smile.  
  
“Go back to Hell you bitch!” Kara spat.  
  
“Well? Did you get rid of Goliath?” the demon doc asked impatiently.  
  
Claire frowned. “Uhm, he wants to speak with you. He’s just down the hall.”  
  
O’Neill let out a sigh of exasperation. “I don’t have time for games. Just finish him.”  
  
“You touch one hair on his head and so help me!” Kara threatened, but they ignored her.  
  
“I really think you’ll want to hear what he has to say. I mean come on, he  _is_  Sam Winchester after all.”  
  
With a scowl the doctor got up. “Keep an eye on her,” he instructed and Claire nodded.  
  
Once he left Kara started shouting again. Claire approached her but she jerked away.  
  
“Stay back!”  
  
“Kara, shut up and let me untie you!”  
  
“Why would you want to do that?”  
  
“Because I’m not a demon!”  
  
“You can’t fool me! I saw your eyes!”  
  
Claire blinked rapidly while pointing at her own face. “Kar, I’m cured. Your boy toy sent the bitch back to Hell already so you can stop telling me to go there.”  
  
Kara sobered a bit. “Oh… sorry,” she mumbled as Claire undid her bonds. Kara rubbed at her wrists and stood. “So where’s Sammy?”  
  
“Well, if our plan keeps working he should be exorcising the shit out of that dirt bag as we speak - and waste time.”  
  
Kara brushed past her, rushing out of the room.  
  
Claire groaned and hurried to follow. “You guys are so impatient!”  
  
The girls burst into the room where Sam had hit a little speed bump.  
  
Demon O’Neill turned to glare at Claire. “You obviously aren’t Lilura.”  
  
“Well I’m not, but I wouldn’t say obviously - that bitch didn’t like you too much either,” she responded.  
  
“What’s wrong Sammy? Send this dick back to where he came from,” Kara ordered.  
  
Sam shrugged helplessly. “It’s not working!”  
  
“I learned a few tricks since we last met, Annabel.” O’Neill looked down at the pentagram he was standing in and the ground began to tremble.  
  
The floor tiles started to shift apart and the perfect circle Sam had managed to sketch on the ground was slowly scattered as well. The demon stepped out of the trap with a smirk.  
  
“Nice try.” He flicked his hand so that the three humans slid backwards to slam into the walls behind them.  
  
They were all pinned there for a moment but then Sam pulled and unstuck himself like someone pulling apart Velcro. The others turned to look at him.  
  
“Uhh… was that supposed to happen?” Kara questioned.  
  
Sam looked almost as stunned as she did. “I seem to have picked up a few tricks of my own.”  
  
“Oh.”  
  
O’Neill frowned and tried to force Sam back again but he stood his ground.  
  
“It looks like if I focus, I can counteract certain forces…” Sam sort of said more to himself.  
  
“Whoa, what?” Claire said wide-eyed. “Well, does it work for just you or can you get us down too?”  
  
Sam shrugged, “I can try.” He furrowed his brow and concentrated. Claire and Kara tugged at their limbs and soon enough they jerked free.  
  
“Pretty cool, Sammy. What else ya got?”  
  
“Uh, I dunno.”  
  
A sigh of exasperation came from the center of the room. “Well I guess I’ll just have to kill you guys the old fashioned way.”  
  
O’Neill rushed Sam, slamming him back to the wall again. The newfound telepathic cuffed the doctor, hitting him square on the ear.  
  
The girls watched the guys brawl, exchanging skeptical glances.  
  
“Hey, O’Neill!” Kara called and the fight paused to turn towards her. “How ‘bout a taste of your own medicine?” She gave a dark smile.  
  
The demon’s eyes went black, then glazed over. They darted around the room before narrowing in on a medicine cabinet. The small crowd watched as he ambled over to rummage through it until he produced a long sharp scalpel.  
  
“Whoa!” Sam moved to tackle the doctor again but Kara held out her hand.  
  
“Wait!” She said and he gave her a questioning look. “Wait,” she repeated. “You two aren’t the only one with weirdo powers and I want to give this Devil’s bitch some payback!”  
  
O’Neill had taken the blade with a shaky hand and was currently cutting his lab coat sleeve to ribbons trying to get at his arm. He sunk down to the floor, his legs sprawled out in front of him like a little kid’s. Spots of blood appeared on the white material and he continued to dig into his skin.  
  
“Kara…” Claire said dryly. “I-I feel kinda light headed.” Kara turned to look and saw that her friend had developed a slight nose bleed.  
  
“Sam, I don’t think I can focus this stuff on just him. Get Claire outta here before she gets too depressed for her own good.”  
  
Sam nodded stiffly and escorted Claire from the room as she started to full on sob.  
  
Kara turned back to O’Neill.  
  
“How do you like me now? Still think I’m being helpful?”  
  
The docile demon looked up at her. He blinked a couple times and she realized his eyes were un-glazing.  
  
“You’re more sadistic than I thought, Annabel,” he smiled.  
  
“Sam!” Kara called out frantically and her hero rushed back to her side. He saw that O’Neill was lucid again and stepped quickly in front of Kara as the doctor moved to stand.  
  
Just as suddenly as the demon had snapped out of it, he snapped back to his zoned out state, perched in mid-air.  
  
The couple looked curiously at each other.  
  
“I guess I need you and your mojo to affect him,” Kara figured.  
  
“Oh.”  
  
“Well, O’Neill, like I said - time for a taste of your own medicine.” Kara focused on the doctor. “You said you learned some new tricks, lets see if any of them include knowing how to destroy yourself.”  
  
“Kara, be careful,” Sam warned.  
  
“He needs to know how it feels. The bottomless pit that swallows you whole when you think there’s nothing left to live for...!”  
  
The demon was moaning as he writhed pathetically on the floor.  
  
“How it feels to think that your life doesn’t matter and everyone would just be better off if you simply went away for good...” Kara was standing over him now. “I don’t believe in you O’Neill. You don’t exist! Even the Devil himself thinks you’re a good-for-nothing waste of space.” He was whimpering now. “You don’t even deserve to be in Hell. You deserve to be nothing! You’re nothing O’Neill! A small, powerless nothing!”  
  
The demon let out a tortured scream. His limbs flew out in a spread eagle and a burning red light appeared between the cracks growing across his skin.  
  
He was being ripped apart from the inside out.  
  
“Kara!” Sam pulled her back to a safer distance just as the demon’s form exploded in a flash of crimson.  
  
A rain of ash fell around them after the light dissipated and Kara stood there shaking slightly.  
  
“Are you okay?” Sam asked her and she nodded vaguely but buried her face in his chest just the same. He wrapped his arms around her.  
  
Claire’s head stuck around the corner. “Is he gone yet?”  
  
“Yeah,” Sam sighed.  
  
\---  
  
“ _Where_ are you?” Sam had his phone pressed to his ear. “Wyoming?”  
  
“What’s in Wyoming?” Kara asked Sam just as he asked the same question of his brother on the other end of the line.  
  
“You think Madalyn’s there? Why?” Sam asked in surprise.  
  
“You mean Dean’s not  _with_ M!? Let me talk to him!” Kara demanded.  
  
Sam maneuvered the phone out of her reach with a simple lift of his elbow as he listened to what Dean was telling him.  
  
“It’s hard to explain, Sammy, but she sort of ran away and I sort of have this feeling like she’s in Wyoming - or maybe she’s just driving through Wyoming, but I’m on my way to try and catch up with her.”  
  
“Well where are you? Maybe we can help.”  
  
“I’ll be in Rock Springs in a couple hours... But Sam - I’m not sure we can find her if she doesn’t want to be found.”

 

END


End file.
